Can We Talk?
by TheArtistGirl
Summary: Now a teenager, Cub is moody, hormonal, but also begrudgingly obedient to his dad. But since he got into high school, he started getting into more fights with Pop, but this fight is without a doubt, one of the worst ones. After not letting him go to a high school party with friends, Cub runs away and seeks solace in an old friend. AU/TEEN!CUB/CONTAINS OC'S/


**I know this fic may seem confusing, but I'll give you some quick context. Okay, so, my version of Teen!Cub is this: He's typically well behaved, but gets into fights with his dad more than a teen should. He just never understands why Pop is so overprotective of him, and sometimes when he needs to vent and his friends are busy, he talks to Fliqpy.**

**Why Fliqpy? Well, because Fliqpy, in my AU, used to babysit for him when he was little, and when Cub gets older, he starts to have this more mature relationship with him. And by mature I mean he sees him less as a babysitter and more as a friend, and he still has that older brother view of him.**

**And this is when Cub is 15, so, Flippy/Fliqpy and Flaky are married and have kids of their own. Those kids are Floyd (12) and Rosie (6), so, if I mention them in this fic, then now you'll know who they are. And Pop is in a relationship with Disco Bear as well, and they have a biological daughter named Annie. She is 11-12 at this point in Cub's life, making her a 6th grader while Cub is 15-16 and a sophomore.**

* * *

_Plot: Cub wants to go to a party that his friends from school invited him to, but Pop doesn't think it's a good idea. A fight breaks out and a distraught Cub seeks solace in one of his oldest friends._

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_*honk honk*_

Cub's round ears twitched when he heard the car horns that were beckoning him over to the vehicle making them. He REALLY did not want to go over there, though, he wanted to spend more time with his friends after school.

"Alright, alright, dad! I'm coming!" Cub yelled across the street.

The creamy orange bear turned to his friends to bid them farewell, his orange hair with the tips dyed turquoise swooshed with his head movement.

"Alright guys, I gotta go… See you Monday…" he sighed.

Cub then picked up his backpack and started to cross the street to reach his dad's vehicle. Suddenly, he felt someone's hand grab his own, stopping his feet from moving. He looked back and saw his female friend (and possible crush) Lotus. She was a bear like him, her fur mostly white but with the tips of her ears fading to a pink. Other parts of her body also faded to pink as well, and she also had gorgeous amber coloured eyes that, like his, were shaped like an ovular Pac-Man.

"Cub, wait, I just remembered!" she said.

Lotus reached into the pocket of her vest and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She placed it in Cub's hand that she held in her own. Cub eyed her quizzically, wondering what she gave him?

"All of us are going to a party tomorrow, a high school party with sophomores and even a few juniors! We were wondering if you could come, a-and if you can, the information and address is on that note." the white and pink bear explained.

She sounded so excited about this party topic that she was stammering a bit, Cub could tell. He had never been to a high school party before, and they sounded like fun from what he had heard from juniors and seniors. How people became "cooler" and "more mature" and even found their "special ones". Hell yeah, he wanted to go to one!

"A-Alright, if I can get my dad to say yes, then I'll be there!" Cub said, smiling.

"Ha! Good luck, Cubby! Your dad will never in a million years let you "have fun" in high school!" one of his male friends, Richie called out.

Cub frowned at the orange skunk. Richie was a sophomore, just like him and Lotus, whilst their friend Nolan was the only freshman. Nolan was a porcupine with short quills and he was mostly green in colour, save for his brown quills.

Cub's frown soon turned into a snide smirk as he retorted back with his own remark.

"Yeah? Well I don't need to hear talk like that from a guy who does his mom's laundry for her!"

Richie blushed and glared at Cub. He knew he was only messing around, but he hardly ever talked back to him like that, he was usually the one who came out victorious when it came to sparring and roasting his friends. Except Lotus, nobody messed with her!

_*honk, honk!*_

Cub sighed and hung his head a little bit.

"Well, that's my cue. Bye, guys, I hope I'll see you at the party!" he yelled as he ran across the street.

Cub's friends all waved at him and yelled goodbye's of their own, even warning him to watch where he was going and not just run into the street. Most of those came from Lotus, as she was a bit of a safety nut when it came to her friends.

"Oh, I hope he can come…" Lotus sighed, putting her hands together and intertwining her fingers.

Richie put his hands on the bear's shoulders and wore a smug grin on his face.

"Oh, and I bet you'd be so sad if your _boyfriend _didn't make it, huh, Lo?" he teased, stretching out the word "boyfriend" in a mushy voice.

Lotus blushed and swatted Richie away, causing the immature skunk to put his hands up in a surrender position, but he didn't hold back his giggles and chuckles.

"Ugh, Richie, sometimes I wonder how you became my friend!" Lotus snapped, stomping off.

She walked home by herself, since she didn't live that far.

"Because, I'm lovable! Right, Nolan?" Richie called after Lotus. He then turned to his other friend who mimicked his "hands up surrender" getsure from earlier.

"Ey, I'm staying outta this one."

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Cub hated driving home from school with his dad. He has faint memories of his childhood at this point in his life where he had a sense of joy during these car rides, but now they've just faded. Possibly due to his currently awkward and strained relationship with his father, at least it was strained on his end. While Pop agreed that their relationship could be better, he loved Cub very much, even when he did things like disobeying him, yelling at him, or dying his hair without his permission.

Cub's younger half-sister, Annie sat on the other side of the car, leaving the middle seat open. She fidgeted with her feet with her hands in her lap, moving her head back and forth, glancing at her brother and out the window of the car. She had a carefree smile on her face, not really feeling the tense atmosphere between her papa and her brother.

That tense atmosphere was silent, up until now when Pop decided to give Cub a good talking to about his behavior earlier. He was tired of Cub not listening to him when he told him to come to the car or anywhere else, it was almost like he was avoiding him, which was heartbreaking to the older bear.

"Cub?" Pop began after sucking in a big breath.

The teen looked over at his dad's eyes which were reflecting in the car mirror. He knew what his dad was gonna say, and it wasn't gonna be anything fun or interesting.

"Yeah, dad?" he replied in a monotone voice.

Pop expected that tone, but spoke nothing of it.

"Cub, I know you love hanging out with your friends, believe me, I do. I loved ignoring my parents and spending time with my high school friends, and even my college friends, too."

Cub raised an eyebrow, his dad was getting off topic here, where's the obvious lecture? He was waiting for him to say the cliche parent lines like, "You're better than this" and "One day, you'll thank me".

"But, honestly, I know you're better than this. I understand it's not always fun to be obedient and listen to me, but that's the thing, son. Life isn't always fun, and you can't just run away from responsibility just because it scares you, or because it's boring, or even because you think you have better things to do."

There it is.

"But dad," Cub retorted, "You don't understand! I _do _have better things to do! I have a life, I have friends, I have hobbies and… things I wanna do."

Pop sighed and rubbed his temples, keeping one hand on the wheel of his car.

"I _do _understand, son. I was a teenager at one point in my life, too." he replied.

"Yeah? Well that was a long time ago, dad. You've probably forgotten just _how much_ stress it causes!" Cub talked back.

Pop gripped the wheel, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping it. He was starting to lose his temper with Cub and was very close to yelling at him to watch his mouth, but then he remembered Annie's presence in the backseat as well. He didn't want her to hear him yell at Cub, so, he bit back his anger and untensed so his fists were their regular colour.

"We are going to discuss this at home, understand?" Pop said in a tired voice.

Cub rolled his eyes and rested his chin in his palm with his elbow propped on the car door.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

But even though he mumbled, Pop heard it well, and he went back to gripping the wheel, trying not to lose his temper.

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When the three bears got home, Cub wasted no time in rushing upstairs to his room and shutting the door. He was in no mood to deal with his dad's lectures, and he wasn't in any mood to listen to Annie talk about how "awesome" and "great" her day was when he was in a bad mood.

Normally he loved hanging out with his sister. Even though there was a 3-4 year age gap between them, they got along pretty well. The only thing they really fought about was who took longer in the bathroom or who ate all of the cereal that they both like so much. He only wished he could fight over minimal stuff like that with his dad. And he also wished his dad would stop being overprotective of him, it was annoying.

Cub flopped backwards onto his bed and groaned. He felt oddly sore and tired just now and wanted nothing more than to sleep. But then he'd miss dinner, and he hated when he didn't eat when he was hungry, he got cranky and sore if that happened.

The teen sat up on his bed, his hair was tousled and messy, more so than usual. He shifted his eyes up to his bangs, catching the turquoise color in them. He only dyed his bangs turquoise, but Pop still wigged out at him since he used hair dye without his permission.

Cub heard footsteps approach his door. He only hoped it was Annie or even Disco Bear, THEM he could deal with right now!

His door opened, and it wasn't the previous two Tree Friends he mentioned. It was his dad, no surprise there, and Cub merely sighed at the sight of him, pulling his knees up to his chest to hug them. Pop watched his son's body language in response to his arrival and was saddened by it. He felt like there was something mentally wrong with his son; maybe depression?

Well, whatever it is, he had a plan to make it better.

Pop sat down on Cub's bed, receiving no response from his son. The older bear ran his hand along the fabric of Cub's blanket, remembering when he was a baby and slept in a crib. It seemed like only yesterday he was that little and innocent, and now he's in high school.

"Cub… I know you've heard me say all of this before but… I know being a teenager is hard, and it may seem like I'm being unfair or that I'm trying to hurt you, but I promise, I'm not." Pop explained.

He twiddled his thumbs, waiting for Cub to respond, but he didn't even look at him.

"Okay, so, you're playing the silent game, huh? Fair enough, I did that with my dad, too."

Cub was hearing every word his father was saying, and he didn't have anything to say to his dad that he hasn't already said before. He could yell at him and say he doesn't understand him, he could tell him to get out of his room, or he could even walk away to another room so he didn't have to listen to this sentimental bullcrap. But there was no point, his dad would follow him anywhere. No privacy allowed for the teenager.

"Son, this is all just hormones you're experiencing right now, it'll pass, trust me." Pop continued.

Cub finally spoke, and he put his legs back down on the bed straight out, and he slammed his hands on either side of him.

"Daaaad, ew! That's gross, I don't wanna hear about my hormones!" the bear exclaimed.

Pop just smirked and chuckled, standing up from the bed, he smoothed out his "BBQ Dad" t-shirt.

"Just givin' it to ya straight, kiddo."

Cub frowned at his dad.

"Well, dinner tonight is chicken and potatoes, I'll go start getting it ready." the latter explained.

When Pop opened the door, he looked back at Cub.

"I love you, son." the older Tree Friend said.

Cub stared blankly at Pop for a good few moments before half-lidding his eyes and turning his gaze away from his dad and towards the window by his bed.

"Yeah, thanks…"

Pop was about to tell Cub something, but decided it was best to just leave it there. He knew when to leave a teenager alone to realize their mistakes on their own, and right now, this was one of those times. Still, the fact that he didn't say he loved him back was heartbreaking and left the older bear sad, even as he closed the door to his son's room behind him.

He sighed placed his back against the door. His eyes were closed, but then he opened them and looked down, he saw Annie standing in front of him with curious eyes.

"Why is Cub being mean?" she asked, tilting her head.

Pop blinked twice and then ruffled Annie's puffy red hair.

"He's just… confused and trying to sort out his emotions, sweetie." her papa explained.

Annie bit her lower lip and looked away for a second.

"Will I be… confused when I'm 15?" the red-head inquired.

Pop chuckled and lifted her up into his arms.

"Of course, sweetheart," he explained, carrying her downstairs. "Every teenager goes through things like these, albeit, not the same way, but yes."

When they reached the kitchen, he set her down and started gathering pots and pans and other kitchen items to start getting dinner ready. Annie automatically started getting the food items out to help her dad.

"But why does he have to yell and say such bad things to you, papa?" the golden bear asked.

"The same reason any kid would: When they don't get their way and when they have to face reality, they just… take it out on the easiest person to take it out on." Pop answered.

Annie pursed her lips and drummed her fingers on the frying pan she held in her hands.

"And in this case, that's… you?"

"Eeyup," Pop nodded. "That's me…"

Annie hung her head in confusion. Why would Cub be mad at Pop like that? She really didn't get how someone could not want her papa around, he was so kind and smart.

"But enough of this, let's just get dinner ready, k?" the aforementioned bear declared.

Annie nodded and trotted over to him with the pan.

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Originally, this story is gonna be a one shot, but it is getting way too damn long to be just one chapter. And you can also check this story out on Wattpad, where It will have visual art here and there.


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